The North Carolina native performed "I Love You This Big" after he was named the winner over runner-up Lauren Alaina, 16.

The win came as no surprise for judge Steven Tyler who told McCreery, "You've come a long way. n the beginning we were worried about your range and you proved it right there again. You take your chances, you ran with it and you nailed it again."

Season 11 of American Idol will face some competition with Simon Cowell's X Factor set to air in September. Will there be enough room on the airwaves for both or will America end up choosing and "voting off" one of these singing competition series?